The whole campaign, which collected votes in July and August for 50 cents each, served as a fundraiser for Newspapers in Education, a joint program between newspapers and schools that supplies classrooms with newspapers to provide students with real-world civil education and more.

Holly was born in July 2016 and welcomed into the Heberts’ family that December after Judy found her photo online. She was small enough to fit in Judy’s purse and sent the car ride home on Judy’s lap.

When the weather grew nicer and Holly grew slightly bigger, she took walks with Judy and sometimes Jim along County Road 511 outside Rapid River.

Summertime created some fond memories. Jim said when family members and friends came to camp in the Heberts’ big backyard, Holly would run to greet them, barking happily and wiggling her tail. When the sun went down, she sat peacefully in a lawn chair, watching people socialize around the fire, Jim said.

Judy Hebert holds Holly shortly after the little dog came to be part of the family. (Courtesy photo)

“This dog here, for some reason or another, everybody fell in love with her,” Jim said. “She never jumped up on the couch. She never jumped off the chair. She didn’t shed no hair.”

On quieter days, he sat outside with the dog, watching the free-range chickens and listening to mourning doves.

In 2021, the Heberts relocated and now live atop the bluff in Gladstone.

Camping the past few years looked similar but with a different backdrop: it was at a relative’s sugarbush in St. Jacques, but Holly still sat in a lawn chair “with one eye open, always looking to see where Momie and Daddy were,” as Jim put it, while an uncle cook freshly-caught fish and kids rode four-wheelers.

When asked what made them decide to enter Holly in the Pet Idol contest, Jim said, “I don’t know. Read it in the paper, I guess.”

Holly enjoyed relaxing in a lawn chair, watching family activities and birds flying . (Courtesy photo)

He said that Holly was also in the contest last year.

In January, Holly “crossed the rainbow bridge” because of medical issues, Jim said. With a large print of her photograph by the fireplace, her ashes in a glass cabinet and a pillow printed with her image in the couch, Holly’s memory is still very present for the Hebert family and friends.

And now, as the winner of Pet Idol, the little Maltese will also be the mascot for NIE program for the next year.

This year’s competition was a tough race. During the voting period, people called in from multiple states, asking where their pick was in the standings. Some pushed for underdogs, others had seemingly random selections for their NIE donations, and some made large lump sum votes towards family members’ pets.

In the end, Holly beat out 21 other entrants for the Pet Idol title, including a one-eyed orange tabby named Boo, a piranha named Commodore Shiny Sides and a pug named Cupcake.

Holly the Maltese is dressed up in a pink bow and kerchief. (Courtesy photo)